Men’s Hockey: New confidence for the Terriers as they prepare for the second half of the season

Featured image courtesy of IIHF Hockey/USA Hockey, BU Athletics

By Devora Slonim

New year, new team.

At least, that’s what the Terriers are hoping for.

After ending the year with a devastating loss to Yale University, Boston University Men’s Ice Hockey (9-7-1, 5-3-1 HE) hopes 2025 will bring them some new luck.

With the return of their full roster, the Terriers are set to host a pair of games this weekend against the University of Vermont Catamounts (8-8-3, 3-4-2 HE).

Recent World Juniors Champions Cole Eiserman, Cole Hutson and Brandon Svoboda will return to the lineup after missing BU’s last game against Yale.

Hutson was outstanding at WJC, becoming the first defenseman in history to outright lead the tournament in points, finishing with three goals and 11 assists.

“We certainly know what he’s capable of,” coach Jay Pandolfo said of Hutson. “I think if you asked him, he would tell you he had an up and down first half… [but] we know what he’s capable of and hopefully he’s gained more confidence coming off the World Juniors… we have those expectations for him, and he has those expectations of himself.”

After being down 3-1 in the championship game against Finland, Svoboda and Hutson potted back-to-back goals and got Team USA to overtime to ultimately secure gold.

All three Terriers were instrumental at World Juniors, with Eiserman tallying seven points (3G, 4A) and Svoboda being a dominant force on the penalty kill while netting six points of his own (3G, 3A).

Tom Willander will also return to BU’s lineup after leading Sweden at the World Juniors to a fourth-place finish. Willander was notable on the ice, averaging 24:21 of ice time per game and tallying five points (2G, 3A) in the process.

“Really happy for those guys, and I think they’re all pretty proud of what they accomplished, and I know it meant a lot to them… ,” Pandolfo said. “They did a hell of a job not only representing their countries, [but] representing themselves and their families and representing Boston University.”

Coming into the weekend, the Terriers boast a 38-17-9 record over UVM and hold a seven-game winning streak.

Freshman forward Max Strand leads the Catamounts in points with six goals and twelve assists and had a goal and assist in Vermont’s recent 8-1 blowout over St. Lawrence.

Strand was named Hockey East Co-Rookie of the Month for December, tying rookies in the nation with seven points, registering a point in each of UVM’s six games of the month.

The Terriers’ focus for the second half of the season is finding their team chemistry, and that starts with staying out of the penalty box. BU struggled in the first half, as they were the most penalized team in the nation, with 97 penalties and 298 minutes of penalty time.

“We’ve been in the box way too much,” Pandolfo said. “That has really affected our team in finding a rhythm… We have to find a way to stay out of the penalty box, and that hopefully helps our overall team game.”

The first game of the back-to-back is set for Jan. 10 with a 7 p.m. puck drop. Saturday’s game is set for a 5 p.m. start time.

“This 10 day break before games I think is really beneficial for us to get back to understanding how we need to play as a team, how we need to compete, and how we have to be disciplined in a lot of different ways,” Pandolfo said. “We’ve had a really good 10 days off… I believe it will translate tomorrow night.”

Both of the Terriers’ games will be available to stream on ESPN+.